Susquehanna Lowers Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) Price Target to $245.00

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) had its price objective dropped by stock analysts at Susquehanna from $265.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the railroad operator’s stock. Susquehanna’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.25% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $277.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Norfolk Southern from $252.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $261.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Norfolk Southern from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $270.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.89.

Norfolk Southern Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $212.59 on Tuesday. Norfolk Southern has a 1 year low of $183.09 and a 1 year high of $263.66. The company has a market cap of $48.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $228.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.25.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The railroad operator reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by ($0.09). Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.32 earnings per share. Norfolk Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Norfolk Southern news, Director Sameh Fahmy bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $219.25 per share, with a total value of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sameh Fahmy acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $219.25 per share, for a total transaction of $438,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,534,750. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Claude Mongeau bought 5,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $221.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,248,650.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,420,000. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter valued at $32,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $383,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Norfolk Southern during the third quarter worth approximately $6,753,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 99,880 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $19,669,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 6.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 27,204 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $5,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

About Norfolk Southern

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.